Delgado and Gonzalez to Debate Military Presence in Arab States

A team of two Cal State Fullerton debaters has qualified for the National Debate Tournament, which begins tomorrow in New York.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1536.0"] CSUF seniors Berenice Delgado and Gabriela Gonzalez are competing in the National Debate Tournament April 1-6 in New York.[/caption]

Berenice Delgado, a senior majoring in philosophy and ethnic studies-Chicano studies, and Gabriela Gonzalez, a senior majoring in philosophy, will compete in the national tournament April 1-6 at Binghamton University in New York.

Nearly 80 teams have been preaparing to argue the assigned topic — Resolved: The United States should significantly reduce its military presence in one or more of the following: the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, the Greater Horn of Africa and Northeast Asia.

The team’s participation at this year's tournament is the 38th qualification for CSUF, said Erika Thomas, the director of forensics and assistant professor of human communication studies at CSUF.

The competition is considered the most prestigious and oldest intercollegiate policy debate national tournament in the country. It was launched in 1947 at the U.S. Military Academy. The American Forensic Association took over the tournament in 1967.